This application relates to a flat flame burner for combusting solid fuel with oxygen.
Due to their very low volatile matter content, solids fuel such as petroleum coke (petcoke) and anthracite coal, among others, are very difficult fuel to ignite in a flowing stream. Hence, the solid fuel typically undergoes a significant ignition delay that results in a flame front which is substantially detached from the fuel nozzle. This is an inherently unstable situation that can lead to high levels of unburned carbon, unstable process heating conditions (heat transfer, melting, etc.) and, potentially, blow-off of the flame that can lead to a very rapid and unsafe degradation in combustion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,189, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a flat-flame or wide-flame burner configured for combustion of gaseous fuels. However, that burner is not configured to operate with a pulverized solid fuel, and specifically lacks any internal geometric features in both the fuel and oxygen nozzles that might be necessary to enable the burner to combustion solid fuel in a stable, attached flame.